Final Fantasy XIII-2: Frequent DLC debatable

Earlier this week we told you that Final Fantasy XIII heroine Lightning may be making her way into Final Fantasy XIII-2 as a playable DLC character, but now we have official word from Square-Enix that DLC content is firmly in the minds of the developer following on from the release of the game.

The game is still not out yet in the US or Europe, but we have already had a number of DLC items confirmed for the game so far. First we told you about a pre-order item with Amazon, giving players the opportunity to fight legendary boss Omega Weapon and use him as a party member in your team.

Then we had the official confirmation from Square-Enix that they had teamed up with Ubisoft to give Noel Kreiss a slick Ezio Auditore outfit from Assassin’s Creed. Finally, we had the news of an exclusive piece of DLC that would be available for Xbox 360 owners only, coming in the form of a bow weapon for Serah which wouldn’t be available on PS3.

Now after rumors this week of Lightning as a DLC character and secret missions, we have heard from Square-Enix that even more DLC is on the way to the game and some may even expand on the game’s storyline to provide an even longer experience to hardcore fans. Here’s a quote from Yoshinori Kitase taken from the official Square-Enix blog, as reported from VG247:

”We’re not just planning boss battles or costumes but also planning episodic DLC items that will hopefully expand on the universe and the gameplay for Final Fantasy XIII-2”

He also added that these DLC items will be announced when the ‘timing is right’, so we’re guessing they will give players a chance to fully explore the game first and then perhaps make new DLC official a month after release. After seeing so many Final Fantasy games without the inclusion of DLC, this is still a bit of a shock to see so much extra content for their new game.

Are you in full support of Final Fantasy now adopting DLC like most other genre of games, or would you prefer to see RPG games untouched completely?

Wow! DLC for Final Fantasy! I never thought it would come to this . . .

I have a mixed opinion about the use of DLC in the FF Series. On one side, diversifying the content between players due to DLC could lead to unknowing players missing out on the whole experience or not really being able to fully experience the content. However, on the other, adding content to the game post-release could really extend the life of the game and add to the balance and depth.

I don’t think I’d mind the use of DLC so long as players are not restricted to content due to the location or time of purchase (Such as preorders at a store allowing more gameplay experience; cosmetic improvements wouldn’t be as much a big deal). As I didn’t preorder at Amazon, does that mean I could never fight Omega Weapon? Or would it be patched up in DLC at a later date?

Here’s hoping such gameplay content is freely available to all who get the game.